ofi Expands Regenerative Agriculture Work Across Global Ingredient Supply Chains

Food and beverage ingredients supplier ofi has released its first Choices for Change Impact Report, setting out progress against its 2030 sustainability commitments and showing how regenerative agriculture is being integrated into global ingredient supply chains.

The company, formerly known as Olam Food Ingredients and part of Olam Group, supplies cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts and spices across around 50 countries. Its operations span sourcing, farmer relationships, processing and ingredient manufacturing, giving the business a direct role in agricultural supply chains that are increasingly exposed to climate risk, commodity price volatility, deforestation concerns and changing sustainability regulations.

The new report follows the launch of ofi’s Choices for Change sustainability strategy in 2024. That framework focuses on four areas: prosperous farmers, thriving communities, climate action and regenerating the living world. The first impact report provides an update on milestone targets linked to those priorities, including farmer livelihoods, living income, human rights due diligence, climate action, deforestation risk management and regenerative farming practices.

Farmer Livelihoods as a Resilience Issue

A central theme of the report is the connection between farmer resilience and environmental outcomes. ofi sources ingredients from about 2.75 million farmers globally. In 2025, it provided livelihood support to 574,000 farmer households, while more than 202,000 farmer households in its supply chains recorded a living income. The company noted that this progress was influenced partly by higher cocoa and coffee prices, alongside its own farmer support initiatives.

For businesses sourcing agricultural ingredients, this distinction matters. Higher commodity prices can improve short-term farmer income, but long-term resilience depends on productivity, diversified income, access to finance, market access and support for climate adaptation. Regenerative agriculture is therefore being positioned not only as an environmental strategy, but also as a supply chain risk management tool.

This is particularly relevant for cocoa and coffee, where smallholder farmers often face climate-related yield pressure, price volatility and limited financial buffers. If farmers lack the means to invest in soil health, shade trees, water management or crop diversification, sustainability programmes may struggle to move beyond short-term interventions. For ingredient buyers, farmer income and environmental performance are increasingly interconnected.

Embedding Regenerative Agriculture

ofi says its regenerative agriculture approach is designed to restore soil, water and biodiversity while reducing harmful environmental practices. Its regenerative agriculture toolkit is now in place across all its supply chains, and the company aims to increase adoption through targeted farmer support and customer partnerships.

In practice, this can include agroforestry, improved soil management, tree planting, climate-smart farming practices and better monitoring of farm-level impacts. These measures are intended to help farms become more productive and resilient while also supporting broader climate and nature goals.

The company reported that it distributed 16.9 million beneficial trees in 2025, exceeding its target of 15 million. Tree distribution and agroforestry are particularly relevant in cocoa, coffee and nut supply chains, where shade trees and diversified planting systems can support soil health, biodiversity, carbon storage and farmer income.

However, the impact of such programmes depends on more than the number of trees distributed. Long-term outcomes require monitoring survival rates, ensuring species are appropriate for local farming systems, maintaining farmer incentives and linking tree planting with broader farm management. For regenerative agriculture to be credible, companies must be able to show measurable improvements rather than simply reporting activity levels.

Traceability and Deforestation Risk

Deforestation remains another major focus. ofi says it now has deforestation action plans across 100% of its high-risk supply chains, meeting its 2025 target. It has also geolocated around 730,000 farms on its EUDR-ready Track and Trace system.

This is significant as food and ingredient companies prepare for stricter requirements under the EU Deforestation Regulation. The regulation requires companies placing certain commodities on the EU market to demonstrate that products are deforestation-free and legally produced. Relevant commodities include cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soy, cattle, wood and rubber, as well as certain derived products.

For customers, stronger farm-level traceability can help support due diligence, risk assessment and sustainability claims. It can also help identify where deforestation risks are concentrated and where targeted intervention is needed. In sectors such as cocoa and coffee, where supply chains often involve large numbers of smallholder farmers, this type of mapping can be essential for regulatory readiness.

However, traceability systems are only one part of the challenge. Companies still need reliable verification, farmer engagement, remediation processes and transparent reporting on outcomes. Geolocation data can help identify risk, but it does not automatically resolve land tenure issues, poverty, illegal land conversion or weak enforcement in producing regions.

Climate Targets and Scope 3 Emissions

Climate is another key part of the report. In 2025, ofi’s climate targets were validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. The company has committed to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 50% and Scope 3 emissions by 30% by 2030, from a 2020 baseline, as part of its pathway toward net-zero emissions by 2050.

Scope 3 emissions are especially important for food and agriculture companies because a large share of their climate footprint sits outside direct operations. These emissions can include farming, land use change, fertilizers, processing, logistics and product sourcing. As a result, ingredient suppliers are increasingly expected to work directly with farmers, cooperatives, logistics providers and customers to reduce emissions across the value chain.

Regenerative agriculture is often presented as a way to reduce supply chain emissions and improve resilience, but it requires credible data and clear accounting methods to demonstrate measurable climate benefits. Practices such as agroforestry, cover cropping, soil restoration and reduced synthetic input use may contribute to lower emissions or higher carbon storage, but impacts vary by crop, geography, baseline conditions and farm management.

For companies buying ingredients from ofi, this makes data quality increasingly important. Corporate climate targets depend not only on procurement choices, but also on whether suppliers can provide reliable emissions factors, traceability evidence and transparent progress updates.

Reducing Emissions in Processing Operations

ofi is also taking action in its processing operations. The company operates circular biomass boilers in cocoa, coffee and dairy facilities, using by-products such as cocoa shells and spent coffee grounds to generate steam. Between 2024 and 2025, these boilers reduced carbon emissions by 70% at its New Zealand dairy facility and by 27% at its German cocoa site. The company also reported 41% renewable energy use across its tier 1 processing facilities.

These operational measures are important because they complement farm-level programmes. For food ingredient suppliers, emissions reduction increasingly requires action across both agricultural production and processing. Customers are also looking for lower-carbon ingredients that can support their own Scope 3 targets and sustainability reporting obligations.

Using agricultural by-products for energy can also support circular economy objectives, particularly where residues would otherwise be wasted or underused. However, as with farm-level interventions, the climate value depends on robust accounting, local energy alternatives and the sustainability of biomass use.

Why this Matters for Food and Beverage Companies

The report reflects a wider trend across the food sector. Regenerative agriculture is moving from pilot projects into broader supply chain strategies, driven by climate risk, biodiversity loss, water stress, regulation and demand from consumer goods companies.

At the same time, scaling these practices remains difficult. Farmers may face upfront costs, transition risks, uncertain yield impacts and limited access to finance. Without adequate incentives and long-term buyer commitments, adoption can remain fragmented. Companies also need to avoid treating regenerative agriculture as a generic marketing term, since practices and outcomes can vary significantly between regions and crops.

ofi’s approach suggests that regenerative agriculture is becoming more closely linked with traceability, farmer livelihoods and customer partnerships. This is important because regenerative agriculture cannot be treated as a standalone environmental label. Its credibility depends on whether companies can show measurable improvements, support farmers through the transition and provide transparent data to customers and regulators.

A Broader Shift in Responsible Sourcing

For food and beverage brands, the report provides useful insight into how ingredient suppliers are preparing for tougher expectations around responsible sourcing. Companies are increasingly expected to understand where ingredients come from, whether production is linked to deforestation, how farmers are supported and how agricultural emissions are being reduced.

For investors and regulators, the report also highlights the need to assess not only headline commitments, but also the quality of implementation, the robustness of data systems and the durability of farmer support. Sustainability strategies are now being judged on measurable progress, not just ambition.

ofi’s first Choices for Change Impact Report does not resolve the broader challenges facing agricultural supply chains, but it gives a clearer view of how one major ingredient supplier is trying to link regenerative agriculture with climate action, deforestation risk management and farmer resilience. As sustainability claims face closer scrutiny, this type of integrated reporting is likely to become increasingly important across the food sector.

Source: sustainabilitymag.com